Cats And Dogs

Street Dog With Puppies Near My Apartment

I've been in the Philippines for over a year and a half and I have had my cat for almost a year already. Laguna (my cat) was a lucky street kitten I found in the gutter one morning and was able to raise as my own. Since becoming a pet owner I've learned so much as an owner and how pet ownership works in the Philippines, I’d like to share what I've learned.

In the US, there is basically two pet choices: cats and dogs. Here, it’s only dogs (for the most part). When I adopted Laguna as a kitten I received loads of raised eye-brows. Co-workers were confused as to why I would want a cat. With my sickly Laguna I had to constantly repeat “yeah, I’m going to keep her” to those who couldn't believe it. After a year of having a cat and talking about her, I think I know now why cats aren't such a hot pet commodity: Usefulness, dependence, and image.

Street Cat Outside My Office

The usefulness of a cat is fairly limited almost everywhere. Besides being a companion, cats mainly focus on napping and eating. Neither napping nor eating rank high to my friends at work in regards to pets. Maybe if they could attack intruders or alert owners of intruders we could talk, but cats don’t do those things. I will say though that my cat is a champion cockroach/lizard killer, not totally useless in my opinion.

Laguna On Duty

Cats are very independent with regards to needing human help. I have seen more street cats in the Philippines than anywhere back home, here they can flourish without help. Cats are tough in the wild and can live and procreate at a rate that keeps their population high. Plus they have natural resources of food here they can utilize with ease (trash and lots of rats).

Street Cat Outside My Apartment

So we have an animal that can’t really be used for anything and doesn't need our help, no one is clamoring for a pet like that. The interest in cats mostly (in my experience) runs from apathetic (cats=local wildlife=who cares) to negative (pest).

Street Cats Under Houses In The Bajau Settlement, Cabanatuan

While most people here don’t care about cats, some have stronger negative feelings. Part of the more antagonistic view is that of seeing cats as pests. It is true where I live that there is a large street cat population, and I can assume it’s a city wide issue as well. This is where I've seen several cases of what could be considered some of the worst animal treatment I've seen; be warned, the forthcoming description is fairly disturbing.

I've personally seen 3 different cases, in different areas of my city, of killings of cats/kittens. The method I've seen has been the same but ultimately probably doesn't represent the typical method. The cats are put into plastic shopping bags, dropped in roads, and run over by passing vehicles. I spoke to my local friend and he told me it’s very common for people to put kittens in trash bags and to throw the bag into an abandoned lot.

This isn't to say that everyone hates cats. My good friend from my office has TWO cats and is one of a minority who tolerates cats. There are those who like imported cats as well. So cats aren't totally out of luck.

A Real Old Street Dog From Dupax Del Norte

Dogs on the other hand are another matter. We have local street dogs (Aspin, formally Askal) and the more favored purebreds.

Guard Dog with 3 ft. Chain, named Barack

Aspins are the local indigenous dogs here in the Philippines. The name is a combination of the Tagalog word “Aso” for dog and the word Pinoy denoting their origin (Philippines). These dogs are of low to moderate popularity. They are almost everywhere here and are a hearty breed. The typical use of an Aspin is as guard dog.

Beach Aspin In Siquijor

Guard dogs can be a sad sight. Typically guard dogs are kept on a short leash near the doors of a home. They are tied up at all times and are not played with, they act as a living doorbell. At worst the leash can be unreasonably short or the dog made to suffer in direct sunlight for portions of the day without shade. Some guard dogs are free of a chain and live a life closer to a pet dog. In my experience, I've seen more Aspin guard dogs on short leashes in squalid corners barking incessantly than any other way.

Street Aspin Looking For Food

Street Aspin are usually friendly to coy but almost never dangerous. These dogs will walk populated areas that have/serve food and will eat trash. At night, street Aspin will roam, procreating and eating where they can. Most people are not antagonistic towards street Aspin.

Guard Dog On The Beach In Subic Bay

Purebred dogs are the most favored of dogs in the Philippines (at least in my experience/city). These dogs are cuddled, cleaned, cared for, played with, and generally treated like pets in America. Some suffer the unfortunate fate of playing guard dog though.

Friendly Street Aspin That Followed Us During A Hike In Sagada

I’ll be making an addition to my pet family this coming week when I adopt my own Aspin. She’s the puppy of a locally owned guard dog Aspin named Tiger. Tiger grew up tired to a chair outside the front door of her owner’s apartment. She eventually was allowed to roam free of a chain, a fortunate allowance. She had three puppies two months ago and when I asked to see the puppies I was offered the pick of the litter. I already knew I wanted one that looked exactly like Tiger and it just so happened to be exactly one meeting my criteria.

Tiger Tied Up As A Puppy, Outside My Apartment

The interesting thing about Tiger’s birthing and puppy raising was that she was suddenly swept away to a much more secure and safe area of the apartment compound, like a true pet. She was suddenly afforded all sorts living upgrades. I think this effort was to keep the puppies safe, even if they are Aspin.

Gypsy, An Aspin Adopted By My PCV Friend

If you’re curious if I’ll be bringing my new dog and Laguna home, I can say for certainty that I will.

Man In Manila Dancing With His Dog

Dearest Austin, What Are You Doing?

It’s been a long time since my last blog post and things have changed. Here’s what’s up in a digestible snapshot, via list:

1.      EDUK has taken a serious backburner position. This has more to do with the nature of the beast; it’s difficult to fast-track a major social effort with an American at the helm. The program isn’t dead, but will be brought to life in a slow fashion, incrementally and likely not before I leave.

2.      The freezing of EDUK put me out of a program development job, so my main work has now been completely shifted from the office and into the field. I am now a teacher. I teach Street Children English in the best way I can, every morning until noon.

Teaching Street Children sounds complicated enough if you think of how much training real teachers get in their years of schooling. If I were to dwell on how un-certified I am at being a teacher, I would be reduced to puddle of tears. Ergo, I set my goals at a reasonable level: show up and try.

Class starts around 9am every day. The class is made up of two main groups: Street Children and Bajau Children. Street Children are defined in a myriad of ways but can be boiled down to: living on the street, working on the street instead of going to school, and can’t afford school. Bajau Children are the children of displaced Sea Gypsies referred to as Bajau. We have a settlement in Cabanatuan near the Street Children classroom and since the Bajau are incredibly poor, some of their children attend our classes.

The Children come in many different ages. We have a ultra-young group of children who are 5-7 and then the ages go up from there, all the way to one 18 year old. Median age is around 12. Usually there are 20 Children in attendance on any single day.

There are now three teachers, including me. My apologies to actual-fully-trained teachers for co-opting your title but please allow it in this instance for simplicities sake. The two other teachers are Susan and Odet and were formally volunteers but are now full-time employees. If you’re curious, they make 200 pesos a day and typically work over eight hours a day.

The classroom is simple and could be referred to as rustic in appearance. It’s in a donated room of the bus terminal on the edge of the city. The room is on the second floor. There’s no proper electricity but thanks to the police station downstairs (and a long extension cord) we have some electricity. There is no running water or bathroom. Most of the bus station is abandoned except for small stores, but the station is still used for transportation purposes.

Lessons last only until around 11am when snacks (merienda) are served before the Children leave at noon. The lessons us teachers provide are mainly Basic English and math lessons. The levels of the children range widely, some are still grasping the totality of the alphabet.

As a new teacher, I have modest goals. Currently I want to really nail the alphabet down. With the alphabet fully understood and the ability to write it as well, I think we can see some serious forward movement.

I’m still on the lookout for help from other PCVs here in the Philippines, and especially from the teachers in my batch. I’m hoping with their help I can at least push the Street Child Education in Cabanatuan City in the right direction before I leave in 6-7 months.

Hug/Kiss/Shake hands with a teacher. Education doesn't just happen magically. Although, I’m trying.